Lunch box



April 1 1924. 1,488,492

E. E1. GRAY LUNCH BOX Filed April 30. 1923 Patented Apr. 1, 1924 UNITEDSTATES mam ori nts.

EDWARD E. GRAY, F PLANO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOE TO LINDLEY S. GRAY ANDEDWARD E. GRAY, 51%, BOTH OF PLANO, ILLINOIS, COIEARTNER-S DOINGBUSINESS AS GRAY BROTHERS.

LUNCH Box.

Application filed April 30, 1923. Serial No. 635,667.

7 T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EDWARD E. Ga n, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Plano, in the county of Kendall and State of Illinois,have invented an Improved Lunch Box, of which the following is aspecification. I

This invention relates to lunch boxes, and relates particularly to lunchboxes of the type which forms the subject-matter of anapplication for U.S. Letters Patent, heretofore filed by me on or about March 19, 1923,Serial No. 625,982, comprising a body portion adapted to containarticles of food, and a cover which extends above said body portion, inwhich the end walls of the body portion of the box also extend abovesaid body portion and are constructed and arranged tosupport a thermosbottle in position within the cover of the box, when adjusted to thebody portion thereof.

As shown in my said prior'application Serial N 0. 625,982, the thermosbottle is supported in part by the cover of the box, which is shaped andproportioned to closely embrace a thermos bottle resting on lugs formedon said upwardly extending end,

walls, thus confining said bottle in position on said supporting lugs.Objection has been made to this construction for the reason that, whenthe cover is open, the thermos bottle is liable to fall off from itssupporting lugsparticularly if the cover opens accidently while the boxis being carried and, falling upon the ground or pavement is liable tobe broken.

The object of thepresent invention is to V overcome the foregoingobjectionable feature and to this end, the invention consists inproviding means for supporting a thermos bottle entirely upon theupwardly extending end walls of the body portion of the box andindependently of the box cover. Specifically, what I now consider to bepreferable means for supporting said thermos bottle to effect the objectof the invent-ion as it relates to this feature, consists of a flangedseat on one end wall of the box adapted to receive and confine one endof the thermos bottle, which may conveniently be formed at very slightcost by-a plurality of lugs on said end walladapted to embrace differentsides of the thermos bottle, the distances between which are less than.,the diameter of the end of the bottle which they are designed tosupport; and saidfsupporting means alsocomprise a spring clip on theother end wall, disposed with its open side upwards and proportioned toclosely embrace the end of the bottle which it is intended to receive,said-spring clip being preferably rivetted or otherwise secured toa lugstamped from the end wall to which said spring clip is attached. i 1

With the described construction it is obvious that the thermos bottlewill be held securely in position by the supporting means on theupwardly extendingend walls of the body portion of the box regardless ofwhether the coverv is open or closed.

An advantage due tomy improved construction is that the thermos bottlemay be supported so that it will-bespaced from the cover of the boxonall sidesand will thus be protected from blows on said box cover unlesssufliciently severe to bend or.

dent the cover of the box inwardly against the thermos bottle with breakthe same.

A further advantage arising from my improved construction is that thethermos bottle is protected from injury from blows directed endwisethereupon by walls of double thickness which will, of course, be muchstronger to resist blows than walls of single thickness only, heretoforeuniversally used, so far as I am aware.

In the accompanying drawing,'in which may invention is fully"illustrated,

Figure 1 isa top plan view of a lunch box embodying my invention andimprovements. i

suflicient force to as I Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional Vi6W-.

thereof on the line 2-2 of Fig-1; and

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional elevations Referring now to the drawings,A designates the body portion of the box and B the cover thereof, saidcover fitting over the upper edge of the body of the box and itsposition thereon being defined by shoulders formed parallel with itslateral edges adapted to rest upon the upper edges of the side walls ofthe body portion of the box, in the usual manner.

Both the body portion and cover of the box are made of metal, usuallytin-plate.

The end walls of the body portion A of the box extend above the sidewalls thereof, as shown at 1, 1', and are shaped to conformsubstantially to the shape in cross-section of the cover of the box,being proportioned to fit within the same.

My improved lunch box is of the familiar type in which a thermos bottle2, is adapted to be supported within and enclosed by the cover of the,box, and in accordance with my present invention, said thermos bottleis supported solely by the upwardly extending end walls 1, 1 of the box,and entirely independently of the cover of the box.

As shown, the means for supporting said thermos bottle comprises lugs 3,3, 3 on the upward extension 1, which define a flanged seat thereonadapted to receive the bottom of the thermos bottle,said lugs being soproportioned and positioned that the distance between adjacent lugs willbe less than the diameter of the thermos bottle. Said lugs mayconveniently be stamped directly from the upward end wall extension 1,the relation being preferably such that a space 4 will be formed betweenthe upperside of said thermos bottle and the corresponding portion ofthe cover.

Vith this construction, it is obvious that the cover will to alargeextent, protect the thermos bottle from being broken or injured byblows, which the cover of the box may sustain. as a large part of theforce of all blows will be absorbed by the resistance to the bending ordenting action of the blow,

, inherent in the material of which the cover is made, which obviouslywill be increased by making the cover circular in form. The protectionafforded the thermos bottle by the space 4 obviously will beproportionate to the distance between said box cover and the wall of thethermos bottle, increasing with the width of said space and vice versa.For usual purposes I consider a space or gap 4 of about one quarter ofan inch as desirable and preferable. 7

As shown, also, the end of the thermos bottle other than that supportedby the lugs 3, 3', 3 on the upward end wall extension 1, is adapted tobe supported by a spring clip 5 mounted on the upward end wall extension1 with its free ends extending upwardly. As shown, said spring clip isrivetted or otherwise secured to a lug 6 on said end wall extension 1which can conveniently be stamped directly from said end wall.

l/Vhile I consider the means shown for supporting said thermos bottle aspreferable,

I do not desire to limit myself thereto, as

other means for supporting said thermos bottle to effect the objects ofthe invention will readily suggest themselves to. persons skilled in theart, but it is my desire and intention to include any and all means forsupporting a thermosbottle solely on the upward end wall extension 1, 1,and en-' fording protection for the thermos bottle from blows deliveredon the end walls of V the box which would have any tendency to damage orbreak said thermos bottle.

Further to safeguard the thermos bottle from being broken or damaged byblows on the end wall of the box which supports the bottom of thethermos bottle, means are provided whereby, when the cover is fastenedin closed position, a space will be provided between the bottom of thethermos bottle and the end wall of the box on which the bottom end ofthe bottle is supported,

as shown at '7. Simple means for this'purpose are provided by thelocking means for securing the cover to the body portion of the box,which consists of tongues 8 formed on the downwardly extending portions9 of bars 10 fitted to hearings on the cover of the box so as to bemovable endwise there- 7 1n, said tongues 8 being adapted to engageholes 11 and 12 formed, respectively, in the 7 end walls of the cover B-and in the up ward end wall extensions 1, 1 otthe body 1 portion ofthebox, the relation being such that the holes 11 and 12 will register witheach other when the cover is adjusted to the body of the box, and theendwise movement of the bars 10 in their bearings being 7 sufficient toeffect engagement and disengagement of the tongues 8 with and from theholes 11 and 12, thus providing for securing the cover to the bodyportion of the box and releasing it therefrom when it is desired toremove the cover. To effect the object of the invention as it relates toprothe upward end wall extension 1 of'the body of the box, when inlooking position, will form a-stop adapted to define a space '7 of Iwhich the supporting means for'the thermos desire-d width, say onequarter of an inch (1 between the bottom of the thermos bottle and saidupward end wall extension 1.

As shown, the bearings for the slide bars are formed by struck upportions 14 of plates 15 secured to opposite ends of the box cover andthe said slide bars are adapted to be secured in positions correspondingto locking position of the tongues 8 by shoulders 16 on said slide barswhich are adapted to interlock with rigid parts of the bearing r plates15, as shown, with their inner ends,

engagement of said shoulders 16 with said bearing plates being effectedand maintained by means of leaf springs 17 secured to the cover of thebox beneath said slide bars, the slide bearings for the bars 10 beingproportioned to permit desired play of said bars in their bearings toeffect disengagement of said shoulders from the ends of the bearingplates 15.

Means for defining a space between the bottom of the thermos bottle 2and the upward end wall extension 1 of the body of the box substantiallyidentical with the means herein shown and described are shown in my saidprior application Sl. No. 625,982, but are not therein claimed.

I do not, however, desire to limit myself to the particular means shownfor spacing the bottom of the thermos bottle from the end wall 1 of thebox body, as other means for the purpose will readily suggest themselvesto. skilled mechanics.

As regards features of my improved lunch box shown in the drawings butnot herein particularly described, the construction of the box issubstantially identical with corresponding parts of the lunch box whichforms the subject-matter of my said prior application, to whichreference is here made for .a full description thereof. I do not,however, desire to limit myself in this respect, as the means shown aremerely illustrative, and exemplify any desired or suitable means foreifecting the objects of the present invention.

I claim- 1. A lunch box comprising a body portion and a cover therefor,said cover extending above the body portion of the box and being ofsufiicient size to contain a thermos bottle, the end walls of the bodyportion of the box extending upwardly into the cover of the box, andmeans for supporting a thermos bottle solely on said upward end wallextensions and entirely independently of the cover of the box,substantially as described.

2. A lunch box as specified in claim 1, in which when the box is closed,the end walls of the portion of the box in which the ther mos bottle iscontained are of doubl'e thick ness, substantially as described. V

' 3. Alunchbox as specified in claim 1, in

bottle are positioned to provide a protective metal which bends easily,said cover extend ing above the body portion of the box and being ofsuflicient size to contain a thermos bottle, the end walls of the bodyportion of the box extending. upwardly into the cover of the box, meansfor supporting a thermos bottle on the upward extensions of said endwalls, means for securing the cover to the body of the box, and meansadapted for spacingthe bottom of a thermos bottle from the end wall ofthe lunch box on which it is supported, substantially as described.

6. A lunch box as specified in claim 5, in which the means for securingthe'cover to the body of the box consists of movably supported tonguesadapted to interlock with holes formed in the end walls of the box coverand in the upward end wall extensions of the body of the box, onethereof being proportioned to project inwardly beyond the end wall ofthe box forming a stop adapted for spacing the bottom of the thermosbottle from the end wall of the box by whichit is supported,substantially as described.

7. A lunch box comprising a body portion and a cover therefor made oflight'material which bends easily, said cover extending above the bodyofthe box and being of sufiicient size to contain a thermos bottle, meanson the end walls of the box for supporting a thermos bottle within thecover of the box constructed and arranged to provide a pro- 'tectivespace between the sides of the thermos bottle and the cover of the box,substantially as described.

8. A lunch box as specified in claim 7, in which means are also providedfor spacing the bottom of the thermos bottle from the for spacing thebottom of a thermos bottle from the end Wallof the box on which it is onwhich it is supported, substantially as supported, substantially asdescribed. described.

10. A lunch box as specified in claim 9, In Witness that I claim theforegoing as 10 in which the means for securing the cover of myinvention, I affix my signature this 24th 5 the box in closed positionare constructed day of April, A. D. 1923. i r

and arranged for spacing'the bottom of the a thermos bottle from the endWall of the box EDWARD E. GRAY.

